Last week on my car radio, I heard a snippet on NPR about “gentelligence.” Unfortunately the speaker wasn't identified. The phrase “OK Boomer” caught my attention as the speaker explained that it could be seen as a reminder from Gen Z that they may be young but that they have a voice and are a force to be reckoned with. The speaker went on to say that just as it’s not okay to dismiss Gen Z because of their age or experience, it’s also not okay to dismiss Baby Boomers because of THEIR age or experience. We logically know that all generations can contribute to the workplace – we just have to create the culture to make that happen. What are you doing to leverage the perspectives of the multiple generations in your world?
One of the Three Commitments that my clients and I make with each other is to honor our Uniqueness & Individuality - that's what helps us create a safe space in which each one can be as authentic and transparent as they want to be, knowing they will not face judgement, comparison, advice, criticism, or even much commentary on what they share. I've found this to be a great space in which to learn from not only different cultures but also different generations. Yes, I have a few Millennial clients and I'm so thrilled they are mastering an important life skill like The Grief Recovery Method at an earlier age than I did! It's exciting to see the positive impact it's made on their mental wellness, and therefore their life...and to know that they are now part of the revolution spreading the good word to the rest of their peers - helping to ensure that no one needs to stay stuck in grief for lack of knowing there's a way out.
Such an intriguing post: thank you! And a great, graceful reminder for us to lean in and listen-to-learn. It's all too easy to dismiss those "others" (whichever direction the arrow goes!), and/or to make light of the differences. Notably, words matter so much. What we call things, how we term our talents and our collaborations, maybe even jokes/ "othering" references that we tolerate in the workplace... all matter incredibly to creating a respectful team environment.
As Gen-Z (or Zoomers!) enter the workforce, we are all too familiar with this dichotomy. Our superiors are Boomers/Gen X, and we must find a common ground with them to keep our teamwork and efficiency high!
Susan Nurre, CPF-E -I think the speaker was likely me :). You can learn more about Gentelligence in our book: Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce https://a.co/d/i3XBx7o or our recent HBR piece on Harnessing the Power of Age Diversity!
As a Millennial, when collaborating with any generation, my focus has been lasered in on listening and asking questions. - What can I do to learn from others? - What skills do I possess that bring us together as a whole? - Where can we partner and build? Love this post!
Great point. I think finding different formats for providing input and feedback can be really helpful.
You make some great points, input from generations are all so important.
Love it that Gen X was once again left out of the post and the image. 😂
great reminder to step out of our mental filters and assumptions and to keep broadening our perspectives... #diversity #inclusion
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2yWhat am I doing? Calling out my BOOMER colleagues when they do things like hosting a webinar titled "Dealing with Millennials" or some other awful title. As a Boomer myself, it drives me bonkers (yes, that's a technical term) when one generation talks down to another one. I try to be very aware of NOT doing that. Maybe it's natural in some ways, but regardless of what label we put on various generations, everyone's contribution can be valuable and we need to work to understand them all, not to "deal" with them!